After another squad mysteriously vanished while approaching the Core Cabin, an unease bordering on panic inevitably began to spread.
The situation only deepened that panic: they had gone astray into an unknown star field and were trapped in the depths of space.
The Sage had no choice but to order everyone aboard the "Pillar of Order" to inject a dose of a Fortitude Mixture to resist the gradually spreading fear and ensure order aboard the ship.
But he could feel that the fear had not vanished. Instead, it continued to breed and spread in the shadows, like an evil spirit behind a curtain, restlessly trying to break through the barriers of reason.
"...Inferior iterative products..."
Watching the monks who were bowing their heads and bustling about despite having no idea what they were actually supposed to do, the white-robed old man seated at the chief position furrowed his brows and cursed silently to himself.
"We just lost contact with the lower mechanical cabin," a member of the Hermetic Society approached cautiously and lowered his head as he spoke beside the old man. "During our last communication, they reported hearing noises from the pipe interlayer and said they were going outside the cabin to inspect the equipment. After that, they disappeared. The monitoring system only captured them leaving the cabin door."
"What's the engine's status?" the Sage asked in a deep voice. "When can we make another jump?"
"The engine is already charging, but some of the power lines are offline. Its charging efficiency is only one-third of normal, so it'll need at least another hour before it can start. And..." The cultist swallowed. "And we still haven't found that 'intruder,' nor can we determine the exact cause of the previous jump failure. Even if charging is complete, jumping rashly might..."